Multiple sclerosis turns the tables on Portland oncologist, as patients become caregivers

By Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian

March 13, 2010, 11:47AM

Webster, a prominent Portland oncologist, had been unable to speak, swallow or see clearly for weeks. Her balance was gone. Her right arm, quivering with a tremor, was useless. Her face drooped.

The multiple sclerosis flare-up was so severe that Webster, 41, didn’t know whether she’d walk again or be able to live independently. More than anything, she remembers desperately wondering if her ailing body would cut her off permanently from the work that fills her life: treating breast cancer patients and searching for a cure.

With little warning, she’d gone from doctoring to needing doctors. Current and former patients pushed through the door of her hospital room atProvidence Portland Medical Center, offering the sort of good wishes and help that Webster typically offered them.

Was it OK, she wondered, to let patients see her at her most vulnerable, even though they were vulnerable themselves? Was it ethical to accept their help?